Of course, the problem has been that many people don't have enough common sense to realize things like that. How many times do you drive up next to someone playing music in their car loud enough for you to hear it even with both sets of windows up --- and I don't mean barely hear it either. You know exactly what I mean.

While I always wonder why such people feel it's necessary to play something loud enough for people in other cars to hear it, as if I really want to hear their radio, I also often feel vindicated in knowing they're losing their hearing a little at a time.

Anyway, while it should be obvious that such volume in any venue is going to harm your hearing, what's interesting in this new study is that they have quantified how much you need to listen per week --- and it's not that much.

According to the IHT, a team of nine experts from the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks in the EU will release a study on Monday that states that listening to music at high-volumes on an MP3 player for as little as one hour a day over a five-year period can result in permanent loss.

The report went on to say (more common sense stuff, but anyway):

"Regularly listening to personal music players at high-volume settings when young often has no immediate effect on hearing but is likely to result in hearing loss later in life."

Worse, it could result in tinnitus (ringing in the ears). How would you like that lovely problem and know it was all your fault. That link hasn't been proven yet, but it's something the report's authors are concerned about.

"Some authors stress that if young people continue to listen to music for long periods of time and at high volume levels during several years, they run the risk of developing hearing loss by the time they reach their mid-twenties. Among young people, there are many reports of temporary or persistent tinnitus induced by loud music, but very few studies have focused on the relationship between the use of personal music players and tinnitus."

In 2006 a class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple by a Louisiana man, claiming the company had failed to take adequate steps to prevent hearing loss among iPod users.

Apple shortly thereafter offered an update to then-available iPods, limiting the volume on the devices. It had previously been required to limit the volume in France to 100 decibels, by law.

It has also been recommended for some time that users ditch the earbud earphones that ship with MP3 players, as they are more likely to cause hearing loss because:

1. the smaller headsets are, the higher their output levels at any given volume-control setting
2. earbuds allow more external sounds "in" than other headsets and thus encourage users to "crank up the volume"

The report did find some positives (and more negatives) in MP3 players, though:

"Listening to music through personal music players can be beneficial when performing boring and repetitive tasks. However, it may be a hindrance for complicated tasks that require thinking. Music can distract the listeners and isolate them from their environment which can be very dangerous when driving or walking on busy roads."